Ai no sekai: Yamaneko Tomi no hanashi

I found a 3rd rate copy of the film on youtube to watch - and despite that - i was completely absorbed

the star Hideko Takemine had begun as a child actress and had appeared in a considerable number of films before this - probably filmed while in her late teens - altho she plays a 16 year old

she has no dialog for half the film - cuz she's a troubled teen who refuses to connect - even with the warm-hearted teacher who takes responsibility for her

nevertheless - Takemine registers every moment she's on screen - she coulda taught Brando or Dean how to wordlessly portray isolation and anguish

the film takes a sudden turn halfway thru - which might not be the best for Takemine's performance - but it doesn't ruin the movie

auspicious names appear behind the scenes - i never heard of the director Aoyagi Nobuo - but he does a commendable job - his assistant director is Ichikawa Kon - one of the cowriters is Kurosawa Akira

this was made early in WWII - but the setting was an island off the south coast of japan - so the war hardly touched the people - altho there were a few reminders

the girl and the teacher were sent to the Goto Islands - but i don't know if they filmed there - the setting is beautiful - even in the sad state of the film i watched - it kinda reminded me of my upbringing in southeastern alaska - however - and ominously for today's audience - the islands are not far from Nagasaki.